Le Cygne
by Till-Owlyglass
Summary: Fourteen years later, the Opera Populaire is rebuilt and the Phantom has a new obsession: pretty chorus girl Lara Schuschnigg is in love with eccentric acrobat, Henri Cornet. Little do they know someone is watching them from the shadows...
1. Chapter One

**Le Cygne**

Chapter One

**PARIS, 1884**

**LARA** sat waiting on the uncomfortable little wooden chair outside the Managers' office for over half an hour. She had been turned away yesterday, and the day before that, and the day before that, by the Managers' assistant. He had only given her this interview because he pitied her. She could tell. He pitied the fact that she had nowhere else to go and so her only choice was to return to the Opera House every day in the hope that the Managers could spare some time to speak with her. So today he had told her to sit and wait outside the office and he would alert the Managers to her presence there, but it was not up to him whether they spoke to her, if they wanted to give her their time then they would call her in.

As she waited she thought about the beautiful grandeur of the Opera Populaire: of the main auditorium with its red velvet chairs and curtains, the golden artistic nudes lining the walls, of the chandelier with its hundreds of tiny crystals, set in the ceiling painted to look like the heavens. Lara remembered being six years old and standing with her mother in the auditorium and staring up open-mouthed at that chandelier, her mother leaning over and whispering in her ear.

"Look at the stage, Lara." she murmured, "Someday you will dance there, like your Mama never got to." She then took little Lara's hand and led her out of the Opera House to where Lara's father was waiting outside. That night they began their journey home to Vienna. Lara would not return to Paris for another eleven years - her parents however were never destined to return. She thought of how she had longed all of her life to become a dancer here, how the beautiful Opera House had occupied her every dream for the past eleven years.

Suddenly the door at the end of the corridor which led back out into the lobby opened and a man walked down the corridor towards her. As usual, Richard Firmin had arrived for work a good hour after his partner, Gilles André. Firmin, whistling tunelessly, nodded politely to the young woman before disappearing into the office.

André was sitting at his desk, furiously scribbling a note to someone or another, he didn't bother to look up, opting to give his usual grunted "Good morning".

"André, tell me, who is that young woman sitting outside?" Firmin asked, taking off his hat and overcoat and hanging them next to the door.

André lifted his head, "Young woman?"

"The one sitting outside the office." Firmin said impatiently.

"What's she like?"

"Oh, I don't know! Quite young, quite pretty. She could be rather beautiful if she wasn't wearing those awful boarding school clothes." André sat back in his chair and thoughtfully fiddled with his pen. As both Managers had a weakness for young, pretty girls, it was quickly decided that they should invite her into the office. Firmin, who was still standing, flung the door open enthusiastically and stepped out into the corridor.

"Good morning, _Mademoiselle!_ Please forgive us for keeping you waiting, I'm afraid we've been terribly busy of late! My name is Richard Firmin. Oh please, do come in, do come in!"

"There is nothing to forgive, _Monsieur. _Thank you for agreeing to see me." Lara said as Firmin ushered her into the office. With her she carried a large bulging carpet bag which the Manager looked at curiously but said nothing about.

Inside the office André had risen from his seat to greet her, "Good day, _Mademoiselle._" he said reaching to shake her hand.

"Good day, _Monsieur, _my name is Lara Schuschnigg."

"German?" André said, going by her surname and slight accent.

"Austrian."

"Ah. Well, my name is Gilles André and I am delighted to make your acquaintance, Mademoiselle Schuschnigg." He didn't quite pronounce it correctly but Lara felt it wouldn't be beneficial to her if she were to correct him.

"Now, what can we do for you?" Firmin asked, ushering her towards a chair.

Lara decided to get straight to the point, "I want to be a dancer." she said. The Managers shared a look which told her she wasn't the first girl to come to them with the request.

"Mademoiselle Schuschnigg, I am afraid we already held auditions several months ago. And we can hardly hire every dancer who comes asking for a place, the Opera would be overrun with them!" Firmin said gently.

"I have a letter of recommendation from Herr Wilhelm Jahn." Lara said, producing said letter from her pocket. The Managers muttered to one another in surprise, it wasn't every day that a dancer turned up with a letter of introduction from a well-known Opera House director. Firmin took the envelope, read the letter inside then passed it to his colleague.

"You were a dancer at the Vienna Court Opera?" André said after reading the letter.

"Yes." Lara said. The letter was rather impressive, praising the young woman's skills as a dancer and telling how everyone at the Vienna Court Opera expected great things of her, but what else was to be expected considering who her mother was?

"Your mother?" Firmin questioned.

Lara sighed unhappily, "Elsa Schuschnigg, though you may know her better as Elsa Haas." This produced another ripple of wonderment from the Managers: Elsa Haas had come from a prestigious dancing family and had once been the Vienna Court Opera's principle dancer; after gaining considerable fame and popularity in Austria and some notoriety in the upper circles of the rest of Europe, Elsa Haas had mysteriously quit dancing shortly before she was to go on tour with the Court Opera - a tour which would surely bring her great fame throughout Europe and possibly lead her to being acknowledged as one of the greatest dancers of the century. All this at the age of twenty was no mean feat.

"May I ask the reason why your mother quit dancing?" André said, eager to learn the answer, for Elsa Haas' mysterious disappearance had puzzled him for years.

"_I _was that reason." Lara muttered.

"Oh! Oh…I see…" André spluttered embarrassedly.

The Managers stared at the young woman seated in front of them: not only had her dancing ability been highly praised by the very famous director of a very famous Opera House, she also had an impressive lineage and possessed exceedingly good looks; long golden hair piled neatly atop her head; exotic green eyes, shaped like a cat's; a pale complexion like that of a classic Greek statue; a well proportioned face with delicate features; and a slender body with slight curves and long legs.

Both Managers knew what the other was thinking and Firmin elected to speak for both (as he usually did), "Mademoiselle Schuschnigg, I think it is time we saw you dance."


	2. Chapter Two

**Le Cygne**

Chapter Two

**THE** Managers escorted Lara out of the office and along the corridor but, instead of exiting through the door at the end leading to the lobby, they showed her through a door halfway up the corridor on their left and proceeded to lead her through a maze of hallways until they stopped in front of a simple wooden door.

Behind this small, unremarkable door was the busy, crowded backstage area of the Opera Populaire. When Lara looked up she could see the numerous levels and balconies: two ballet dancers in white skirts which came to their knees scuttled above them on the second level, giggling and whispering together, cleaning ladies ran back and forth, sheets and costumes to be washed bundled in their arms, three seamstresses chatted amongst themselves as they sewed costumes of emerald green material, a dark-skinned maid aired a white sheet by unfurling it over a balcony rail.

"Well André, why don't I show this young lady to the stage while you go to the studios to ask Madame Giry if she would be kind enough give her opinion on Mademoiselle Schuschnigg's dancing?" Firmin said, smiling down at his much shorter business partner. André did not look all too pleased with the idea of having to walk all the way to the studios to fetch Madame Giry but he had little choice, for Firmin had already disappeared up the corridor with Lara in tow.

When the pair stepped out on to the stage, Lara caught her breath. Ever since she was a little girl she had imagined what it would be like to stand upon this stage, but none of her dreams had ever come close to this. The stage was far bigger than it appeared when viewing it from the audience and the heavy red velvet curtains with their gold trimmings and fringes shone lustrously like a peacock's feather. Lara looked out into the audience and saw the rows of velvet seats and the cleaning ladies dotted here and there amongst the rows, she admired the private boxes framed by the gold nude carvings contorted around them sinuously.

"It's beautiful." Lara gasped.

"Isn't it?" Firmin said proudly, "The renovations were only finished early this year."

A stagehand swept the stage while another lit the gas lamps along the front of the stage with a long lighted pole. As Firmin shooed them out of the way, they stared curiously at Lara who smiled back. At the other end of the stage an acrobat was practicing, Lara watched as he walked backwards and forwards on his hands then did a back flip, landing successfully on his hands again. André announced his arrival with Madame Giry by clearing his throat loudly and pointedly.

Madame Giry was a thin woman dressed in a simple black gown which could easily be danced in. She was rather attractive for her age - which could have been well into her fifties - and her red-brown hair, which she wore in a long plait down her back, was streaked with only a couple of strands of grey hair.

"Madame Giry, may I present Mademoiselle Lara Schuschnigg." said Firmin.

"I am honoured to meet you, _Madame_." Lara said, dropping into a deep curtsy. Madame Giry merely nodded, her thin lips pressed together in a straight, serious line.

"Mademoiselle Schuschnigg joins us from the Vienna Court Opera. Wilhelm Jahn himself wrote her a stunning letter of recommendation." André explained.

"Hmph." Madame Giry said, circling Lara, "Well she has the perfect build for a dancer," she prodded Lara to make her stand up a little straighter, "When did you start your lessons, girl?" she prodded her again as if she hadn't heard.

"My mother began teaching me when I was six years old. I joined the Court Opera at ten."

"You'll never believe who her mother is!" André said excitedly, "Elsa Haas!"

"Hmph." Madame Giry said again, "My daughter Meg Giry, began her lessons at four years old." she stated. Lara saw Firmin and André roll their eyes to each other behind Madame Giry's back - presumably at the mention of Meg Giry.

"Well, let's see you dance." Madame Giry said.

"Excellent!" Firmin cried, "Where are the musicians?" he glanced around questioningly then finally settled his gaze upon one of the stagehands who loitered nearby.

"The orchestra doesn't arrive until ten, _Monsieur_," the man said. Lara felt a pang of panic, what if this was her only chance? What if by the time the musicians arrived the Managers had lost interest in her and decided to continue with their business without seeing her dance?

"_Excusez-moi_, _Messieurs_, but I would be happy to provide the music for the _Mademoiselle's _audition." a voice piped up from behind them. The Managers, Madame Giry and Lara turned to find the acrobat, now standing the right way up, addressing them shyly. Lara now realised that he was not as old as she had first thought him to be and was scarcely out of his teenage years and rather on the tall side.

"An acrobat?" André exclaimed incredulously.

"I also play the violin, _Monsieur_." the young man said, inclining his head respectfully.

"Very well." André said wearily, "_Mademoiselle_, if you would like to prepare?"

The young acrobat bowed again and walked to the edge of the stage, wiping the chalk from his hands as he went upon the white breeches he wore. He dropped down into the orchestra pit and emerged a few moments later standing on the conductor's podium, tucking a violin under his chin.

Lara did something most unconventional and caused much surprise by merely dropping to the floor where she stood and taking her shoes off. She fished around in her carpet bag and produced her ballet shoes which she busied herself tying, then stood up to remove her coat and gather her skirt up to tie out of the way around her thighs. The nearby stagehands grinned at the sight of her long legs but Lara didn't care, she was here to dance and dance she would, with all her heart.

"What would you like me to play, _Mademoiselle_?" the acrobat asked. Lara was unsure of what to say.

"What about 'The Swan' by Saint-Saens?" he offered, seeing her hesitation.*****

"Yes, thank you." she said gratefully. The boy played a few tester notes then began to tinker with the tuning of the instrument. Lara meanwhile moved away from the Managers and Madame Giry and did some quick stretches to warm up. When the pair were ready, Lara gave a sign to the boy, who waited a moment then began to pay at the exact same instant that she began to dance.

She started with a few _Bourrée _steps to her right then did five _Soutenu _twirls downstage, stopped to do a _Pirouette en Dedans _then circled back upstage _en pointe _and did a _Fouetté en Tournant_, finally she _Grand Jete_'d towards the Managers and Madame Giry, stopping in front of them to lower herself slowly and steadily into a low _Arabesque penchée _to finish.

The Managers smiled and nodded to one another: they were impressed but, as knew nothing of dancing, the real judge was Madame Giry who, at that moment, was staring at Lara with an unreadable expression - this hardly inspired Lara to feel particularly confident about her performance.

"She dances exceedingly well." the Dance Mistress finally stated and Lara breathed a sigh of relief, "She was a little stiff at times due to the fact she didn't have time to properly warm up. But despite that, she danced very well: her posture was impeccable throughout, as was her timing and rhythm but her arms need a little work, at times they were out of position."

The Managers, who cared little for the exact science of the dance, were quite content with 'She dances exceedingly well' and were delighted that Lara had Madame Giry's approval.

"Excellent!" Firmin said, clapping his hands, "Madame Giry, please be kind enough to show Mademoiselle Schuschnigg to the dancers' dormitories?"

"Of course, _Monsieur_."

Lara gathered her things, thanked the Managers graciously and followed Madame Giry off the stage_, _quite forgetting to thank the young acrobat who still stood grinning on the conductor's podium, violin in hand.

***I realise that most of Camille Saint-Saens' work - which may feature heavily in this story - was actually written and preformed several years after this story takes place.**


	3. Chapter Three

**Le Cygne**

Chapter Three

**THE** ballet dancers' dormitories were in the attics above the studios. Madame Giry led Lara to a long room with two rows of metal beds running the length of it.

"This will be your bed." the Dance Mistress said, stopping before a metal bed in a shadowy corner at the end of the room.

"Thank you, _Madame_." Lara said, placing her carpet bag upon the bed.

"I must now return to the dancers. You will wait here until they return." Madame Giry said before turning and striding back up the room.

Next to each bed was a chest of drawers for each dancer so store her belongings in, Lara transferred her belongings from her carpet bag to the drawers and took this opportunity alone to change out of her drab travelling clothes and into a fine yet modest lavender gown. She then sat upon her bed to read a book.

The dancers arrived half an hour later: the first few came bounding up the stairs, each mass of frothy white skirts, but stopped dead upon seeing Lara - causing the girls behind to crash into their backs. Slowly, they filed into the room, craning their necks to get a good look at the newcomer sitting alone in the shadows at the bottom of the room, then tittering and whispering to their neighbours when they each reached their respective beds, all the while never taking their eyes off Lara. Lara cleared her throat uncomfortably and lowered her head back down to the book to hide her blush.

"Hello there! You must be Lara Schuschnigg." a voice said. Lara raised her head to find her neighbour standing before her.

"What are you reading?" the girl continued, snatching the book from Lara's hands, "'The Odyssey' I could never read a book so big! I'd never have the patience! Oh! It's written in a funny language!"

"It's a German translation." Lara said, taking the book back.

"Translation?" the girl's face held a puzzled frown.

"Yes, it was originally written in Ancient Greek. Forgive me, but how do you know who I am?"

"Oh, Deanna told me."

"Deanna?" Lara's neighbour pointed to a girl of about eighteen with a thick mass of brown curls.

"And how does she know me?"

"Well, Deanna is courting Alfred who is a stagehand, and we passed him on the way back form the studios and he told her about you." Lara remembered the two stagehands who had watched her dance, was Alfred one of them?

"News travels fast here, doesn't it?" Lara said but the other girl merely blinked at her then sprang forward, grabbing a piece of the skirt of Lara's dress and rubbing the material between her fingers.

"Oh! What a lovely dress! Is this the style in Vienna?" she exclaimed avidly.

"Erm…thank you." Lara said, shuffling away a little.

"Gosh! I've been so rude haven't I? I haven't even introduced myself! My name's Elsbeth Lenoir." Elsbeth Lenoir was slight and doll-like with a long sheet of black hair which fell straight down her back and rosy cheeks.

"Your mother was Elsa Haas, wasn't she?"

"Yes, unfortunately."

Elsbeth looked confused, "You don't like your mother?" she said bewilderedly.

"No, no! I loved my mother very much! It's just…when people know I'm her daughter they expect things of me."

Elsbeth wasn't listening, "How wonderful it must be to have had a famous mother!" she said dreamily, "All that extra dance tuition! You're almost famous yourself by just being related to her!"

Lara gaped disbelievingly at Elsbeth, "So…erm…what do we do now?" she said finally.

"Oh, it's time for breakfast then we have lessons."

**.:~:.**

That night, Lara changed into her nightgown and climbed into bed. Elsbeth in the bed beside her lay chattering about this and that until the other girls began to sleepily hiss for her to be quiet. Finally she too fell asleep and Lara was left lying awake in the darkness, thinking about the day. At breakfast the dancers had sat at two long tables and ate hot croissants with butter and fresh milk. Then Lara met the dancers' tutor Monsieur Chevalier and spent two hours in his class as he taught mathematics for one hour then English for the second, the old teacher was delighted to know Lara already spoke English, having learnt it in Vienna. After lessons the girls had a light dinner of bouillabaisse with freshly baked crisp bread and a little watered down wine. After dinner, the girls spent time studying until bedtime - though most of the dancers spent time either chatting and preening themselves or tried their luck at sneaking out to go to nightclubs.

Lara turned over and snuggled under the covers, she had to get to sleep soon for tomorrow the dancers were going to get up at 5am and spend the entire day practicing with Madame Giry. It would be hard work, but Lara wouldn't have it any other way.


	4. Chapter Four

**Le Cygne**

Chapter Four

**MADAME** Giry woke the dancers at 5 o'clock in the morning. Lara went to the bathroom on the floor below to wash her face in icy water then changed into her loose white rehearsal dress. As they walked to the studios together, Lara noticed that thankfully Elsbeth was too tired to talk much.

Once in the studio, Madame Giry immediately told the dancers to warm up while she went to speak with a Monsieur Beauchamp.

"Who is Monsieur Beauchamp?" Lara asked Elsbeth as soon as the Dance Mistress left the room. They were standing at the barre doing stretches.

"He teaches the male dancers in the studio below ours." Elsbeth said, stifling a yawn.

"Madame Giry likes to keep the dancers separate for as long as possible until she has no choice but to complete the chorography together." a pretty blond girl behind Lara said, "Hello, my name is Angelique." she offered her hand and Lara shook it.

"Why does she want to keep the dancers separate?" Lara placed her left ankle upon the barre and straightened her leg, enjoying the feeling of her muscles stretching and loosening.

"I expect she thinks if she keeps us apart as much as possible then we won't have any opportunity to engage in any hanky-panky." Angelique snorted. Lara laughed, she liked Angelique already.

"My sweetheart is one of the dancers." Angelique added, staring to _Plié_ .

"And I suppose you get up to all sorts of hanky-panky?" Lara said, smiling.

Angelique laughed loudly, "No, Luc is lovely. When they come, look for the handsomest dancer, that's my Luc."

"Marie has had her eye on him for some time." Elsbeth butted in. Angelique gave her an irritated look then explained for Lara's benefit.

"Do you see the girl behind you at the end of the barre?" she said, nodding her head somewhere over Lara's left shoulder. Lara looked; the girl in question reminded her very much of a fox, with a thin face with angular features, narrow eyes and titian red hair.

"Marie Rossier is the reason that Madame Giry keeps the boys and girls separate."

"Claire Debrosse says she and Monsieur Firmin were good friends. _Very _good friends." Elsbeth said.

"How old is she?" Lara asked.

"Twenty."

"Last year she was sure she had an _accident. _Gave everyone a right scare! Madame Giry was all for making her leave but Monsieur Firmin stepped in, of course. Anyway, as it turned out, it was all a mistake but Firmin hasn't touched her since then. So now she's sniffing around the male dancers."

"Oh, Elsbeth, that was just a rumour! You mustn't say things which may not be true!" Angelique scolded, though Lara noticed that she still looked at Marie Rossier with some malice, as though it was not completely unlikely that she may be trying to ingratiate herself with the male dancers.

At that moment, the studio door opened and Madame Giry entered with a man who was presumably Monsieur Beauchamp and the male dancers trooping in after them in a line. Lara spotted Luc with ease, Angelique had not exaggerated, he was indeed the most handsome boy in the class, with his copper coloured hair and clear blue eyes; also the fact that he gave a shy little wave to Angelique when he was sure the two dance teachers were too deep in conversation to notice helped Lara to identify him.

"_Silence_!" Madame Giry shouted, rapping her cane upon the floor, "Take your positions with your usual partners!" There was a rush of activity as the dancers found their partners and a place on the floor. Lara went to stand beside Madame Giry.

"Monsieur Beauchamp, this is Lara Schuschnigg, a new addition to my class as of yesterday. Are there any dancers in your class she may be partnered with?" the Dance Mistress said.

Monsieur Beauchamp, a handsome man in his mid-forties, stepped forward to scrutinise Lara carefully, "No," he said finally, "The two groups are perfectly matched in numbers, remember?"

"What about one of the older boys?"

Monsieur Beauchamp sighed thoughtfully, "No, they're all working on the new Tchaikovsky ballet." he shrugged helplessly.

"What about Montandon?" Madame Giry said after some thought.

"Montandon! The boy's a drunk!" Monsieur Beauchamp exclaimed, "You swore we'd never let him dance another step after what happened last time!"

"Last time?" Lara blurted, unsure of whether she really wanted to be involved in this particular dance if it meant her partner would be a drunken troublemaker.

"Montandon has a habit of sneaking out at nighttimes - I can't for the life of me figure out how he does it," Monsieur Beauchamp explained, scratching his head in puzzlement, "Last week he snuck out again but didn't return until two days later. He stumbled drunk through the dormitories and climbed into bed; the only problem was that he'd somehow found his way into the female dormitories instead of the males' and had climbed into bed with Mademoiselle Perin," Monsieur Beauchamp nodded in the direction of a dainty brunette who was chatting animatedly with her partner, "Mademoiselle Perin awoke and, finding her bed had gained an occupant, woke the rest of the dormitory with her screams. The other young ladies also began screaming at the sight of a young man in their room, waking Montandon who, startled and confused, stumbled from the room and fell down several flights of stairs. We found him lying at the bottom of a stairway, uninjured and snoring loudly - can you believe it? After all that the young rouge had the nerve to fall asleep!"

"And were is he now?" Madame Giry asked.

"In his dormitory - I haven't allowed him to set foot inside my studio. I sent a letter to his parents telling them we refuse to have him any longer. I'm waiting for a reply to see what they want to do with him."

"Well, he does show great promise, if only he'd apply himself." Madame Giry said, "I am sure Mademoiselle Schuschnigg will be able to cope with him. We'll give it a try."

Lara felt sick, she'd only just been accepted as part of the troupe and her position was still a little dubious, now she must struggle to do well with an outrageous loafer for a partner. Monsieur Beauchamp left to fetch the infamous dancer.

"Don't worry, Lara." Madame Giry said, seeing the look of alarm on her face, "If he continues with his shameful ways then you don't have to dance with him."

Lara noticed that Elsbeth and Angelique were looking at her questioningly. She went to stand next to them.

"Lara, this is Luc." Angelique said, squeezing the arm of her partner.

"How do you do?" Luc said, showing two rows of straight white teeth when he smiled.

"Whatever's the matter?" Elsbeth said, "You looked terribly angry when you were speaking to Madame Giry and Monsieur Beauchamp."

Lara grimaced, "My soon to be partner is an utter cad apparently." Someone tapped her on the shoulder. Lara turned around to find a gangly youth with hair as yellow as a lemon towering over her.

"Good morning, my name is Thomas Montandon." he said brightly.

"Oh, erm…hello. I'm Lara. Lara Schuschnigg." Lara said shyly. She noticed that most of the other girls in the room were glaring at him with mistrust; they were probably still indignant over the whole drunken bed incident.

"Teach Mademoiselle Schuschnigg the lifts while the rest of the class work through the entire dance." Madame Giry instructed. The pair went to the other end of the long room out of the way of the other dancers.

Thomas Montandon busied himself warming up while Lara, unsure of what to say, leaned awkwardly against the barre waiting for him to finish.

"By the way, thank you so much for agreeing to dance with me!" the young man said as he did a series of _Fouetté en tournants_, "You really saved my life!"

"Well, I desperately needed a partner so you're the one doing me the favour." she decided not to mention the fact that she really had no choice in the matter and was hardly happy about the situation.

"Right, so the first lift in the routine is an overhead lift." he moved to stand behind her, placing his hands upon her waist, "You are _en pointe_," Lara moved onto her toes, "Good. _Un, Deux, Trois…_" Lara bent her knees and jumped as he lifted, she glided easily upwards until he stopped, holding her horizontally above his head, his arms straight and steady. Slowly, he lowered her to the floor.

"Bloody hell, that was easy!" he grinned, "You're as light as a feather! Do you actually eat anything? How much do you weigh?"

"_That _is none of your business." Lara said primly.

Montandon laughed, "Okay, shall we try it again? This time, arch your back as much as you can and stretch your arms above your head instead of placing them upon my hands." Lara did as she was instructed, they practiced the lift once more then moved onto an _Arabesque _lift, _Sissonnes _and a difficult _Swallow_ pose.

"Montandon!" Monsieur Beauchamp shouted then, in a much softer tone of voice, "Mademoiselle Schuschnigg, the dancers are going to practice on the stage, please be so kind as to follow us."

The dancers and their teachers left the studios and made their way to the stage, walking through the backstage area with Lara and Thomas Montandon bringing up the rear. Lara noticed that though his posture was always perfectly upright when he danced, when Montandon walked he was rather round shouldered and slumped, with his hands dug deep into the pockets of his trousers; really, his walk was more of a casual stroll, as if he had not a care in the world and nowhere really important to be and thus could see no point in hurrying.

"You are from Austria?" he said. His eyes were rather bloodshot and there was a self-deprecating irony to his crooked smile - which was really no more than a flick of a corner of his mouth.

"Yes, Vienna."

"How long were you at the Court Opera?"

"My mother began my tuition when I was six, and I was accepted on the children's troupe at the age of ten. I left last month."

"And how old are you?"

"Sixteen."

When they reached the stage, they stood in the wings watching as the dancers took their staring positions and Madame Giry fussed around them, making them stand correctly or swap places. After a while, Montandon wandered away to speak with a friend of his, leaving Lara alone.

Suddenly she became aware that someone was standing close behind her, she turned around and found herself looking up at a tall young man of about nineteen or so, standing close behind her right shoulder, watching Madame Giry arrange the dancers. He smiled absentmindedly down at her for a moment then turned his attention back to what was happening on the stage. Lara did the same.

After a few minutes of silence, he spoke quite suddenly, startling Lara, "She's like a drill sergeant, isn't she?" he said, speaking of Madame Giry.

"She expects everyone to perform at the best of their ability at all times and does not tolerate lethargy." Lara said, carefully choosing words which would not sound as though she was speaking ill of her new teacher should anything she said find its way to her ears.

"The woman terrifies me." the boy muttered, causing her to splutter with laughter.

"I don't suppose you remember me, do you?" he asked quite abruptly.

Lara turned to look at him; his hair was dark brown - the colour of ground coffee - and combed neatly with a straight side parting; his eyes were large and a curious shade of dark green, they sparkled with mischief and humour. As far as she could tell, she had never seen him before in her life.

"I played the violin for your audition." he said, seeing that she was struggling to place him.

"The acrobat?" she said in surprise, "I didn't recognise you without your white clothes."

Indeed the boy was dressed differently, on the day of her audition - though she hadn't paid much attention to his face - Lara vaguely remembered that he had been wearing a baggy white shirt and white breeches; today he was dressed a little more normally in a shirt and tie with a brown waistcoat and brown trousers. The clothes were a little worse for wear though and covered in a thin sprinkling of chalk - in the Opera House ballet dancers rubbed their shoes in chalk to give them a better grip on the floor, acrobats not only coated their shoes, but also rubbed it on their hands. The boy noticed her looking at the chalk and began to surreptitiously brush it away.

"Yes, I only wear those when I'm practicing. I don't dress like that all the time."

"I didn't get a chance to thank you for offering to play for my audition, if it wasn't for you I probably wouldn't be standing here - I'd probably be scouring the streets for a job and a place to live."

"Not at all, _Mam'selle_, it was the least I could do," he said, waving away her thanks, "Could I just ask, if you could be any animal in the world, what would you pick?" Lara was taken aback by such an odd question, she blinked in confusion for a moment.

"Erm…a cat I suppose."

"Why?"

"Because you'd get to lie in the sunshine all day. I like cats, they're smart and independent."

"I see…" the young man frowned and seemed to ponder this, after a moment he smiled brightly, "How rude of me, I haven't introduced myself! My name is Henri-"

"Cornet! What are you doing bothering my dancer? Go away you stupid boy!" The pair turned, startled, to find Madame Giry glowering in their direction. The young acrobat made a face of mock terror before scampering away.


	5. Chapter Five

**Please watch the 'Le Cygne Character Guide' for a guide to all OC's and a sneak peak at characters to come!**

**http:/**** www. youtube .com/watch?v= rdRieoizeJE **

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**Le Cygne**

Chapter Five

**THAT** evening as the dancers prepared for bed, Elsbeth came and sat on the end of Lara's bed and watched her as she combed her hair. Lara got the feeling that she was waiting expectantly for her to say something.

"I saw you talking to Henri Cornet." Elsbeth stated a little to casually. Lara didn't answer, she merely shrugged and continued plaiting her hair.

"What where you talking about?" Elsbeth blurted, sick of hinting for Lara to tell her.

"Nothing. I was merely thanking him for playing the violin for my audition."

"That was him? Well, that was nice of him, I suppose." the other girl said a little huffily, "But Lara, I don't think you should talk to him anymore."

"Why not?"

"Henri Cornet is crazy!"

"Literally?"

Elsbeth pulled a face, "Well…no, but he's so strange! He's not mad in the sense that something is wrong with his brain, he just does strange things like he doesn't care what people think of him."

"So he's a little eccentric?"

"Yes exactly! Like, you'll be in the middle of talking to him and he'll suddenly ask you a bizarre question out of nowhere! Or make some strange observation about something around him."

"Is that it?" Lara said, looking at Elsbeth critically.

"Yes, but don't you think it's odd?" Lara merely shrugged and climbed into bed.

**.:~:.**

The next morning at practice Lara and Thomas Montandon were told by Madame Giry to join in the dance with the rest of the group. Thankfully, Thomas seemed to have taught her the lifts well for the Dance Mistress made no complaints about her performance. After an hour or so of practicing, Madame Giry told the dancers to rest a while before they began learning the next dance.

"Thomas? May I ask you a question?" Lara said, trying to sound casual as she practiced some of the more complicated footwork for the dance they had just completed.

"Of course, _Mam'selle_." Montandon replied.

"Do you know of an acrobat named Henri Cornet?"

"Henri is a friend of mine."

"And is he…is he really mad? Elsbeth says he is crazy."

"Elsbeth Lenoir is an idiot and a gossip. There's nothing wrong with Henri."

"Oh I told her there wasn't!" Lara said quickly, lest Thomas think that she too had been unkind about his friend, "I told her how he had kindly offered to play the violin for my audition for the Managers."

"Ah! He is talented, _non_? It's just a pity that he can't get onto the orchestra."

"Why not?"

"Once an acrobat, always an acrobat." Thomas shrugged, "At least that's the philosophy everyone in charge here holds. And they believe it applies to everyone, the dancers, the musicians, the cleaners - there's no room for moving up here. You'll never see a stagehand running this place."

"Well it's the same wherever you go, once you're in the chorus, you're there for life. They say it takes 5% talent and 95% luck to become a ballerina."

"Quite right, quite right." Thomas said, nodding sagely.

"So tell me: how is it that you came to make friends with Henri?" Lara was surprised at how much she enjoyed talking with Montandon, when she had first met him she had thought him to be an utter scoundrel but really, he was rather charming and easy to talk to.

Thomas started laughing, "How could one _not _make friends with Henri? On my first day here he walked straight up to me and asked me what came first, the chicken or the egg?"

"He asked me what animal I would choose to be."

"Ah, he's decided to make you his friend."

"What do you mean?"

"Henri has a way of instinctively knowing which people would make good friends, who won't be daunted by his peculiarities. When he finds such a person, he latches onto them and soon it is seemingly inconceivable that you should ever not be friends with him."

"So he thinks I would make a good friend?"

"It seems that way. Don't be afraid though, he's not crazy. He's a wonderful person to have for a friend. Really, you should feel honoured that he's chosen you."

"I'm not afraid."

**.:~:.**

The next day Henri Cornet made his next move on his quest to win Lara's friendship.

On Saturdays, after a three hour dance practice in the morning and then breakfast, the dancers had the whole day to themselves to do whatever they wished. As it turned out, Elsbeth wanted to go and visit the market to purchase some new hair ribbons and Lara asked if she could go with her for she was eager to experience Paris as much as she could.

After wandering around the market where Elsbeth purchased her ribbons and a little bottle of perfume and Lara bought some ribbons too and a battered second-hand copy of the complete works of Shakespeare, the two girls bought a cream cake each from a vendor and Elsbeth led the way to a nearby park where they sat on a bench to eat them.

"I feel awfully sorry for you." Elsbeth said, biting into her cake and getting a blob of cream on her nose.

"Really? Why?"

"For being stuck partnered with Thomas Montandon of course!"

"You shouldn't, Thomas is perfectly lovely."

"But surely you know what he did which almost got him sent away!"

"He got drunk and fell asleep in the girls' dormitory."

"Oh." Elsbeth looked disappointed, probably because Lara already knew the story so she couldn't tell it again and exacerbate the details, "He drinks too much. He sneaks out every night and comes back drunk."

"That is none of my business. He has never let it affect his dancing with me so I have no right to complain."

"He's perfectly horrid to the girls!"

"He's always been gentlemanly to me."

"That's what I mean, he's pleasant to them to begin with to lure them into bed. Then he just throws them away like a child with a toy he's gotten bored with." Lara could tell that Elsbeth was latching onto any little thing so as to paint Thomas Montandon in a bad light.

"Again, none of my business. And I'm disappointed in you, Elsbeth, that you would think I was foolish or wanton enough to fall for anything like that."

"He even did it with Marie Rossier, for God's sake! That proves he has no standards!"

"Now you're being unkind about Marie Rossier. Really, Elsbeth, what has she ever done to you?"

"You're only saying that because you haven't had a run in with her yet." Elsbeth shuddered, "Once, she was angry with me because I was picked for a dance instead for her and she to be understudy, so she hid my shoes right before the performance so I couldn't dance and she got to instead."

"She really did that?"

"Yes! Angelique used to sit in front of her in class and when she started courting Luc, Marie was so jealous that she dipped Angelique's hair in her inkwell. And Angelique was wearing the most beautiful dress that she'd saved up for weeks to buy and she had to throw it away because the ink ruined it."

"How awful!"

"Exactly, that's why no one likes to get on the wrong side of Marie Rossier."

"Come on, Elsbeth! Let's run to the top of that hill and back to work off those cream cakes!"

People walking in the park that day were treated to a charming scene: two pretty ballet dancers from the Opera, laughing together as they raced each other up the hill, their hair shining in the afternoon sunshine and flowing behind them as they ran.

At the top of the hill they stopped underneath the lone tree which grew there to catch their breath and admire the view which looked over nearly the whole of Paris.

"Oh look!" Lara cried, pointing up into the sky, "That cloud looks exactly like a horse prancing like one in a Spanish circus!"

"I can't see a horse at all, it just looks like a cloud to me." Elsbeth said, squinting her eyes and turning her head from side to side.

"What do you mean you can't see? It's right there, plain as day! See, there's the head, and there's the mane swishing out, that's its body and there's its front legs rearing up."

"If I turn my head this way it sort of looks like a mushroom."

"I can see the horse, Lara." a voice suddenly said.

From out of the tree a black shape dropped, landing on its feet in front of them. Elsbeth shrieked and stumbled backwards against the tree trunk. Henri Cornet straightened up and brushed himself down.

"Look, that one looks like a fat man wearing a fish for a hat." he said, pointing to a cloud on the other side of the tree. Lara giggled, Henri was right, the cloud did look remarkably like a fat man wearing a fish for a hat.

"What do you want?" Elsbeth said hostilely.

Henri didn't even bother to look at her, he spoke directly to Lara, "Did you know that if you started counting from the moment you were born, and didn't stop until you reached sixty-five years old, you still would not have counted to a billion?"

"Really?" Lara laughed.

"Really." Henri grinned, "What's your favourite fruit?"

"Apples. And yours?"

Henri looked bewildered that she had asked, normally no one ever returned the question, "Strawberries." he answered finally, "Do you see that bridge?" he pointed to a large metal structure in the middle distance.

"Yes I do."

"My mother and father met on that bridge. They were both going to commit suicide by jumping off it but they happened to start talking to one another and fell instantly in love and decided not to jump and got married instead."

Elsbeth, outraged at being ignored, swatted Henri's arm, "Stop telling lies!" she hissed, "You see Lara, I told you about this: all he does is lie and talk about stupid things and ask silly questions."

Henri blinked calmly, "Isn't there some shiny surface you could be gazing at your reflection in, Elsbeth?" he said simply. Lara bit her lip to stop from laughing.

Elsbeth was momentarily at a loss for words, "How dare you!" she squawked, "Come on Lara, let's get away from this stupid boy!" She began to tug at Lara's arm.

"Look here, I have a spoon. That should keep her occupied for a while." And with that, Henri put his hand into his inner jacket pocket and really did pull out a spoon which he offered to Elsbeth with a sincere smile. Lara couldn't help but laugh at something so bizarre which caused Elsbeth to shoot her a murderous look for the other girl felt betrayed that her friend should laugh at her. Elsbeth turned and flounced away down the hill without another word.

"Why on Earth do you have a spoon in your jacket pocket?" Lara asked.

"I've been waiting for weeks to try that joke on her." Henri said, replacing the spoon with a shrug.

"Poor Elsbeth." Lara said, looking down the hill after the other girl who was now out of sight.

"Don't act like she wasn't annoying you too!"

"That was a cruel joke to make about her though." Lara scolded lightly.

"It was funny though, pity I didn't have a bigger audience. And besides, it's true."

"Well, she _is _very pretty, so of course she's going to be enchanted by her own looks."

"I think you're prettier." Henri said simply.

Lara felt a blush creeping up over her face, "Thank you. Now, tell my how you worked out that thing about counting to a billion."

"It's because a billion is such a huge number, for example: a billion seconds ago our parents would have been children."

"Honestly? That's amazing! You must be very good at mathematics."

"Pretty good." Henri said with a dismissive shrug, "_Mademoiselle_, I wonder if I may have the honour of escorting you back to the Opera Populaire?" He bowed with a flourish.

"Yes you may, _Monsieur_." Lara said, matching his plummy tone.

"Oh! My hat!" Henri exclaimed. He turned and clambered back up the tree with ease, a moment later he dropped back down again, this time with a rather battered bowler hat upon his head, "Now we can go, _Mam'selle_." he said, taking Lara's hand. His palms were green from climbing up the tree but Lara didn't mind.


	6. Chapter Six

**Le Cygne**

Chapter Six

**ELSBETH** refused to talk to Lara for the rest of the day. All throughout dinner and then the evening recreation time she refused to even look in Lara's direction. Lara felt terribly guilty, for all Elsbeth was silly and tactless, she had been the first person at the Opera Populaire to extend the hand of friendship to the Austrian newcomer. And really, Henri's joke had been a little cruel and belittling. Lara resolved to apologise at the first opportunity she had the next morning, giving Elsbeth the whole night to cool off.

Her chance came when they warmed up at the barre before their lesson with Madame Giry. She had been careful to find a spot right next Elsbeth so her apology could remain private.

Lara tapped the other girl's shoulder, "Elsbeth, I'm so sorry for what happened yesterday. Please don't be cross with me."

At first, Elsbeth merely flashed her a contemptuous glance and continued to ignore her, she turned away and resumed swinging her right leg back and forth to loosen the muscles.

Lara tried again, "Please, Elsbeth. Talk to me."

The Elsbeth whirled around, dark hair flying and eyes flashing, "You want to talk?" she snapped, "Fine let's talk. Let's talk about how you humiliated me. How you betrayed me - for Henri Cornet no less! A boy you've barely known for five minutes. I thought you were my _friend_, Lara."

To Lara's infinite shame she saw that Elsbeth actually had tears in her eyes. Clearly the girl was much more upset over what had happened than she had initially thought.

Lara was just about to reply when a harsh voice interrupted, "_Now _what are you crying about, you baby?" the speaker turned out to be Marie Rossier who was at the barre on Elsbeth's other side. For one terrible moment, Elsbeth looked on the brink of actual hysterics.

But Lara spoke quickly, "Why don't you just mind your own business, you insufferable bully?"

Marie Rossier's face was a picture to be sure, several of the nearby dancers had overheard and were now giggling, and even Elsbeth stared at Lara with a look of wonderment - and, perhaps a little gratitude. Lara took her arm and the other girl put up no resistance as she led her down to the other end of the barre.

"I can't believe you said that! I can't believe it!" Elsbeth laughed, "But you do realise that she'll be looking for ways to get back at you for humiliating her?"

"I don't care." Lara said defiantly, "All that matters to me is that you'll forgive me. Elsbeth, please let's be friends again?"

Elsbeth sighed and looked away, "I never really had many friends before you came here, Lara. Yes, there was Angelique but then she and Luc got together and she couldn't spend as much time with me - you know how these things are. I was so lonely I cried myself to sleep every night. That's why Marie Rossier said those things. But then you arrived and you were so pretty and exotic and talented. And you were alone too, so I thought that we could be friends. _Best friends. _And you didn't seem to dislike me like most of the other girls do, you actually _wanted _to be my friend. At least, I _thought _you did."

Lara was touched my Elsbeth's heartfelt confession, "Oh Elsbeth, I am so, so sorry. Please forgive me. Let's not fight over silly Henri Cornet."

"Well, when you put it like that…Alright, I forgive you. Let's never ever fight over a boy again."

"Good idea!" Lara laughed. The two girls hugged to seal their renewed friendship and ended up quickly jumping apart when Madame Giry banged her cane on the floor. Monsieur Beauchamp had arrived with the male dancers and everyone was now taking their positions.

"Mademoiselles Schuschnigg and Lenoir, you are holding up the entire class!" the old Dance Mistress chastised. Lara and Elsbeth scrambled to find their partners and take their places.

"What was all that about?" Thomas asked when Lara was finally at his side.

"Just patching up a silly argument. My God! What happened to your eye?!" Lara gasped. Indeed, Thomas' left eye was swollen and positively purple.

Thomas' entire face broke into one of his characteristic cynical grins, "What? This? Nothing. Just the result of a silly argument _I _had."

"What on Earth did you do _this time_?" Lara groaned.

"Why do you immediately assume it was my fault?" Thomas said, pretending to look sour but failing to completely suppress his grin, "Oh, alright. I suppose it actually was my fault. I tried to get a little too friendly with a soldier's wife."

Seeing Lara's scandalised expression, he quickly continued, "But, in my defence, I didn't know she was married. She wasn't wearing a wedding ring. _And _she was being extremely friendly back."

"Montandon! Be quiet you fool!" Madame Giry barked.

Halfway through the dance, Lara was standing in front of Thomas, waiting for him lift her, but instead he leant over her shoulder and, placing his lips close to her ear, whispered, "You have a visitor, _Mam'selle_." Thomas nodded to the studio door and Lara saw, peering through the glass window, Henri Cornet. Upon realising that she had noticed him, a smile lit up Henri's face and he began waving enthusiastically.

"What is he doing here?" she muttered as Thomas lifted her into the air.

"Beats me. But he kept pointing at you so I suppose he wants to talk." Thomas replied.

"No! No! No! Stop! Everyone stop!" Madame Giry cried, banging her cane on the floor so loudly that even Henri at the door heard and ducked out of sight for fear that she had spotted him. The boys slowly lowered their partners to the floor and an uneasy silence descended as the dancers stood awkwardly, wondering which pair had incurred the Dance Mistress' wrath.

"Mademoiselle Perin, how many times must I tell you? When Monsieur Fortier lifts you, _do not _cling to him like a limpet!" Madame Giry went on, making her way over to the pair.

"But _Madame_, I'm frightened that he'll drop me!" Mademoiselle Perin protested, "He already has once!"

Her sandy-haired partner turned positively beetroot and muttered, "It was only once."

"Be quiet, Fortier!" Madame Giry snapped, "Now, I am going to stand here and watch you do the lift, and you are _not _permitted to stop until you have it perfected!"

The other dancers began to drift from their positions and mutter amongst themselves.

"Silence!" Madame Giry shouted then turned back to the unfortunate dancers.

Lara glanced back at the door and saw that Henri had reappeared. He waved again and, after a quick glance to make sure Madame Giry was still occupied, Lara waved back. Henri looked overjoyed then busied himself making silly faces for her entertainment. As the faces gradually became more and more fantastical, Lara found herself holding back her laughter with considerable difficulty. And Thomas was evidently experiencing the same problem.

"Stop it, you madman!" he sniggered, chewing on his lower lip in a vain attempt to stop laughing.

But, when Henri pulled what was undoubtedly the most grotesque grimace Lara had ever seen, Thomas' resolve crumbled and he began roaring with laughter. Henri's expression changed to one of triumph before he disappeared again from the window. Every dancer in the room stared at Montandon and Lara in horror, had Thomas Montandon completely lost his mind?

"Thomas! Thomas stop!" Lara hissed, plucking fruitlessly at his sleeve. By now Thomas was doubled over clutching his stomach, with tears of laughter in his eyes.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Madame Giry screamed, "Montandon, have you taken leave of your senses?!"

"I can't…I can't help it!" Thomas wheezed.

"Montandon, shut up!" the Dance Mistress commanded. But still Thomas continued to laugh. Lara was mortified and began to edge away from the lunatic who happened to be her dancing partner.

"Lara, take this fool out of my studio. I can no longer bear to look at him." Madame Giry said with disgust.

"Come on, Thomas." Lara said, taking his elbow and literally dragging him from the studio. Henri was waiting for them outside the door, a mischievous grin plastered over his face.

"You!" Thomas rasped, "I'm going to kill you! Just as soon as I'm able to get my hands on you!"


End file.
